When a recruiter comes to us for a quote, one of the first things we ask them for is a job description for the position they are trying to fill. But even if you don't have a back-office asking you for one, you should get a job description for all of your job orders, especially for contract placements.

Recruiters who want to get into contracting often ask us how they can get contracting job orders. Some recruiters we work with say the best way to start is to simply ask current direct-hire clients if they need contractors. They may be surprised to learn that you offer contractors, and you may be surprised how many contracting job orders you get as a result!

Here are five other questions that can help you get more contracting job…

We've discussed in previous blog posts about how members of Generation Y, who are often called Millennials, make great contract candidates. But if you hope to attract the best talent from the upcoming crop of college graduates, you may run into trouble if you rely solely on traditional recruiting…

We asked recruiters who are successfully doing contracting to share some of their best marketing tips. The main thing to keep in mind when trying to get contracting job orders is that, while you may be used to dealing with human resources when filling direct-hire job orders, contracting job orders are more often coordinated through the hiring manager.

Here are just a few things recruiters can do to sweep hiring managers off their…

You would think with all the workers still out on the unemployment line, it would take companies less time to fill a position. But recruiters recently told The Wall Street Journal that it is taking hiring managers up to four times longer to fill positions now than it does when there are fewer…

When you are looking for new contracting job orders, don't overlook your smaller clients.

Contracting is not just for large corporations anymore. In fact, according to the American Express Small Business Forum, "Small business owners have dramatically increased their use of contractors," and the money they have spent on contracting over the past nine years has doubled.

When negotiating a contract candidate’s pay rate, it may feel like you are between a rock and a hard place. After all, both the client and the candidate are your customers. You have to make your client happy if you hope to get future job orders, and a satisfied candidate will likely turn to you for future contract opportunities and may even refer friends looking for contract work.

So where do you start? A common rule of thumb is to divide the annual salary for a comparable direct…